Welcome to the Department of Social Work

The Department of Social Work offers courses in Social Work (SOCW) and the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Social Work. The B.A. in Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). This department offers a major in Social Work and does not offer a minor in Social Work. Additionally, students pursuing the B.A. in Social Work are not required to declare a minor in a second academic discipline.

Mission

The mission of the Department of Social Work is to prepare diverse students for ethical generalist social work practice that builds on strengths, promotes resilience, and utilizes the person in environment framework. The program emphasizes a liberal arts grounded curriculum that focuses on: 

  • professional social work practice, 
  • evidence-based assessment, prevention, and intervention with at risk populations across all system levels to promote human and social wellbeing, 
  • serving African Americans and other people of color, as well as those most vulnerable to oppression and discrimination based on race, physical ability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, country of origin, language, and age, and, 
  • advocating for system and policy changes that promote human rights and social and economic justice, to address local and global challenges. The program seeks to eliminate poverty, thereby enhancing the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally.   

The Baccalaureate Social Work Program expresses its commitment to social work’s purpose, values, and ethics throughout the various components of the curriculum, wherein students are exposed to the values and ethical foundation consistent with that of the social work profession. The knowledge and skills acquired over the course of the program are directly correlated to 9 Core Competencies as defined in the 2015 Council on Social Work (CSWE) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS).

The liberal arts perspective, social science cognates, and social work courses (core and electives) provide opportunities to learn about and incorporate the ethical and value orientations necessary for effective practice. The faculty is fully aware of the necessity to introduce to students, nurture and facilitate the continual attention to the values and ethical positions of the profession to guide practice actions. Further instruction supports the professional commitment to continuing contributions to the ongoing assessment of these perspectives. Each of the program goals addresses the purpose, values, and ethics of the profession to some degree and is derived from its mission in order to:

  • prepare students with knowledge of the profession, values, and skills for practice that will further develop the profession and promote just, more humane, and equitable service delivery, 
  • provide opportunities for students to utilize a variety of tools and approaches to assess, intervene and evaluate practice with people from backgrounds that do not reflect their own (e.g., race, gender identity, religion, political affiliation, etc.), 
  • engage students in culturally competent address the unique needs of at-risk and underserved populations, and 
  • empower students to work collaboratively with inter- and intra-disciplinary teams to effect micro, mezzo, and macro-level change in places and policies where social and economic injustices exist.